God's
Timing
Scott Roudebush
Tarrytown United
Methodist Church
February
9, 2003
Youth Sunday
What is God's
timing? This
idea is as abstract
as those of
love, justice,
and joy. What
is love? What
does it have
to do with God's
timing? Timing
can be crucial
in the routine
of our daily
lives. For athletes,
it is the difference
between a home
run and a swing-and-a-miss
(or for golfers,
the difference
between a slice
into the woods
or an even bigger
slice deeper
into the woods).
For people investing
in the market,
timing determines
a loss or a
gain, a profit
or money lost.
On a more superior,
meaningful level
what is God's
timing? I have
not definitions
and logic defined
in 20-letter
words I can't
spell or pronounce,
but rather a
personal interpretation
of an experience,
which illustrated
the importance
and providence
of the plans
of "The
Man Upstairs".
I was in second
grade and my
parents informed
me that we were
going to move
to Austin, Texas
from Houston.
My father had
decided that
the atmosphere
here in Austin
was better for
working and
raising their
only child.
Admittedly,
I was a little
upset. Ok, I
cried like a
baby upon hearing
the news. Leaving
my friends and
the house I'd
known all my
life was reasonably
upsetting to
a child who
couldn't read
or write cursive
yet and whose
recess was the
highlight of
their day. Running
to tell my friends
the next day
was not an easy
task as I time
after time saw
the reflected
sadness in their
eyes as well
as mine.
At the time,
my father worked
here in Austin
and returned
to Houston to
visit us often.
After his visit
ended, he would
return here
to continue
working. This
routine continued
while my mother
stayed with
me as I finished
my second grade
year in Houston.
Every morning
since as long
as I can remember,
we read a daily
devotional called
The Upper Room
which is a daily
reading consisting
of entries of
the witnessing
of God's works
by people all
over the world.
One morning,
soon after hearing
the news of
the future move,
we read a passage
that would forever
change our lives
and our perspective
of the enormous
change that
would soon land
us here in Austin.
My mother read
to me a devotional
sent by a wife
whose husband
worked in another
city as they
planned for
a big move while
she stayed with
their only child.
The husband
in the entry
visited the
family as often
as he could,
but returned
to their future
home in order
to root himself
in the company
and allow the
child to finish
their school
year. This similarity
wasn't a coincidence.
Ten minutes
later the phone
rang, and it
was my father
on the other
line nearly
yelling through
the phone, "Did
you read the
Upper Room this
morning?"
Yes, it was
God's timing,
and I would
say he hit a
home run with
this one. This
remarkable occurrence
lifted us up,
and although
we knew that
all would be
alright in the
end in our venture
away from Houston,
this simple
parallel exalted
us as a family
as we felt at
peace with God.
The plans God
had for us were
laid out and
they led to
happiness, our
welfare, and
eventually,
God himself.
Quoting from
the scripture
reading for
today, "For
surely I know
the plans I
have for you,
says the Lord,
plans for your
welfare and
not your harm,
to give you
a future with
hope" (Jeremiah,
chapter 29).
God has plans
for every one
of us, and they
are not plans
for us to fail,
for belief in
the Lord leads
us on the path
of joy. A valley
for all of us
becomes a peak
with faith in
the Lord. The
realization
of this only
dictates how
long you remain
in the valley.
So pick yourself
up today. Many
of us are going
through rocky
times these
days. Whether
it is the loss
of a loved one,
decisions about
family and jobs,
or the financial
struggle that
many people
face today,
or just the
task of staying
in God's light,
we all struggle.
Trust in God's
timing, because
he is powerful
and loving enough
to place us
on the road
to our welfare
and to his.
It matters not
that we fall
off the road
to God, it only
matters that
we get back
on.
What is God's
timing? How
can something
so abstract
be described?
Well what is
love? I'd have
to say God's
timing is love
acting through
us.
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